Latest / Beyond the Paw - Clemson Athletics / Ep. 49 - Lilly Lippeatt: Building a Legacy and Serving a Higher Purpose

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Ep. 49 - Lilly Lippeatt: Building a Legacy and Serving a Higher Purpose · Beyond the Paw - Clemson Athletics

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Welcome back to another episode of Beyond the Pod.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Today we have my teammate, Lily Lippit. Lily Welcome to
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: be on the pod. Lily has been a member of
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Clemson's inaugural gymnastics team, ACC Newcomer of the Year, three
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: time ACC Newcomer of the Week, all ACC bar specialist,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: an inaugural Lance Corporal Noah Lippitt, Esperate de Corpse Award winner.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Lily Welcome. I hope I pronounce everything correctly, but that's
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: a lot on your resume, and I just have to
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: say I am so excited to have you on this podcast.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I feel like this has been a long time coming.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Whenever we think of people to come on, we're like,
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Lily Lippit has to come on, Yes, at some point,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: like she has to come on. So I'm just glad
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: you're here.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's just
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: been such an honor to be on here because I've
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: heard so much about it and I've like watched it
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: and watch y'all do great things, and so many people
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: have been on it, so just really cool to be
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: a little bit of part of that.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: That's so awesome. I love that you watched it to
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: you because people say like, oh, like you have a podcast,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: like that's so cool, and I'm like, yeah, have you listened.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: They're like no, I'm like so grateful to you that
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: you've listened. But Lily welcome. Let's get up a little
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: bit of background behind you. Who you are, where you
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: come from, where you grew up, gymnastics. We'll get into everything,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: but let's start with where you're from.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: So I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up right outside
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: of that in the suburbs of Mason, and now I'm
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: here in Clemson. All Right.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: I've heard a lot about Mason, Ohio from you. I
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: don't think I've ever heard more about Ohio anywhere else
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: than from you. You've talked about what their ice cream, Like,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: what are the things about Ohio that make you you?
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Yes, it's literally just the ice cream.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Oh, Like that's it.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, just the ice cream. Greater's ice cream is probably
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: my favorite thing in the entire world, to a point
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: where since I've been at Clemson every year on my birthday,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: my mom will ship like ship me the ice cream.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: I have merch from Greater I have an ice cream
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: like holder that like keeps your hands warm. Nice way
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: you eat ice cream? Ice cream Scooper, It's grads Like
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: ran through my whole family to a point where my
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: brother got a job at Graders so that we could
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: get discounts with your go.
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: To flavor there, Like what do you have to have?
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Salted caramel chocolate chip is a top? I love the
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: birthday cake, but in July they come out with an
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: orange and cream Like I got the I got the calendar,
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: but I know when the flavors come out. Definitely. I'm like,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: I'm the number one fan of Graters. Probably I'm hearing
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: like an nil deal you know I works. Yeah, I
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: would just love you know, just maybe a PR package
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Graders if you're regulars ice.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Cream on Clemson Women's gymnastics is your number one fan?
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, Operators.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: So how did you get into gymnastics too? Like where
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: did when did you start? How young were you?
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: I started at two and a half. Just was climbing
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: things that I shouldn't have been, doing flips on the couch,
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: and my parents just put me in a space where
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: I could do that safely. Yeah, And so started at
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: two and a half with like the mommy and me, classes.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Two and a half is young. Yes, No one starts
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: to sport that young.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it was. Gymnastics is just kind of
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: easy to start young, I think just because you're you're
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: put in it at a recreational level. There's a lot
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: of different levels to lots of people love to just
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: do handstands, forward rolls and flips, and it just stuck
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: with me and kind of grew up and progressed like
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: through that gym all the way up into coming into
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: a college career for it.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Okay, so talk about growing up in the sport too.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: You started young, you went on a path that a
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: lot of college gymnasts don't normally go on. You went
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: through the elite path. Can you explain a little bit
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: about that too.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So I did elite gymnastics in my teenage years
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: and I went to the Croly Ranch in the national
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: team camps, which has a lot of history behind it,
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: and it was about the age of eight. Was the
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: first time that was kind of like set apart. And
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: you can go on this path of switching between there's
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: like the level ten route and then there's the elite route,
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: which you have to be an elite to go to
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: the Olympics, and so that's when you start traveling internationally,
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: you start competing for the United States. So my first
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: international assignment was in twenty nineteen and got to compete
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: for the US in Canada quite a few times. Was
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: really cool opportunity just to like had to grow up
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: really fast, but it was also create an opportunity for
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: like international travel, being able to see the world, see
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: a lot of people, compete with a lot of different people,
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: learn so much discipline from it. And yeah, I did
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: Elite for most of my career and then step down
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: the year before from competing internationally to prep for college.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: Can you kind of explain to people what the Corollly
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Lanch or Corollly Ranch was Excuse me coroly Ranch was
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: like back then, because I know there's been a bunch
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: of controversy about it and all of that stuff, and
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: I just want to learn your experience that you had there.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm gonna be honest. It's a It was bought
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: by a lumber company and it is completely torn down.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: And I will say that that is the best thing
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: that could possibly happen to it, is for it to
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: be used for lumber. And you had to travel there alone, right, Yes,
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: most of the time, Okay, I always, Yes, I always
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: traveled without parents, but sometimes I traveled just completely by myself.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Sometimes I traveled with my coach. But it was a
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: the national team training center out in the middle of Houston, Texas,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: middle of nowhere. Took an hour from the airport to
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: get there, and it differed from the Element Training Center
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: that's in Colorado Springs that most people go to. So
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: the Corolis owned it. The first time I went there,
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: I was eight. The first time I went by myself,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: I was eleven. And you go for a week a
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: month and you just train with all the other high
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: level athletes, olympians. So yeah, once a month you would go.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: That's crazy, once a month. I did not know that.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, once a month.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so it was about five five days once a
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: month and you would go and you would train and
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: there was nothing there, like no cell service. I mean
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: they had a farm there, so like you would walk to.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: You would stay in these cabins that didn't really have
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: hot water, kind of had ac like you work.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: So it's like basically camping and then also training at
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: a high level as well.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: Yes, training at a high level and just I'm gonna
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: be honest with Curllly. Ranch just created a lot of fear.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: That was most of the environment was based on fear,
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: and it created really good gymnastics. Not it came from
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: not very great people and created a lot of broken people.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: So I think because I've learned so much from it,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: but I left it a broken person, really good at gymnastics,
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: but in the end, like it's not worth it. It's
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: not worth it to be good at gymnastics to go
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: like the Olympics. And I think a lot of people
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: will tell you that is man at some point, like
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: the sport is really cool and to be successful in
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: the sport is awesome, But to leave that knowing that
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: it took everything out of you and created a lot
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: of fear, just unhealthy fear about different things, and you
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: put your identity in it. So yeah, all in all,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: I'm so glad that it is now a lumber mill
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: and all of it's torn down.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: I feel like so many people don't talk about their
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: younger years in gymnastics, like before safe sport and all
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: of these rules came about about, like coaches having to
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: follow like different different parameters with talking to athletes and
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: stuff like that, like it was toxic for most gymnasts
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: growing up, Like it's this beautiful sport now to us,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: like being in college and getting to, you know, reap
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: the rewards and the benefits of being a collegiate athlete
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: and little girls looking up to us. A lot of
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: people don't talk about like how much we went through
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: or like you went through as an athlete growing up,
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: but it's really like shaped who we are today in
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: our identity.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, And it was a really cool process. As hard
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: as it was to like see myself there, it was
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: a really cool process to learn that I could no
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: longer put my identity in gymstics and like figuring out
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: what I was going to put my identity in and
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: now just like coming to college and just like seeing
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: the difference in like just being able to enjoy gymnastics
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: in a way that I never thought I could and
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: just to have joy in it and hope and and
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: just excitement and to learn to learn to be a
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: better person, a better friend, a better athlete has just
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: been so fruitful and so awesome.
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: Sounds like you've had a lot of reflection, and I
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: think we talk a lot about identity in sport and
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: I think you probably have a pretty good understanding of
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: who you are as a person. So even when we
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: say identity, what are the mini pieces of Lily that
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: make up your identity beyond gymnastics?
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah so much. I think one of the things that
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: I did really well, I did not have a lot,
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: not a lot of things I did really well coming
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: in as a freshman, being brand new. But like one
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: of the things I told myself was I needed to
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: have other things besides gymnastics, and I couldn't put my
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: identity in it like I did before, and so coming
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: here I wanted to find different things and just be Lily,
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: not necessarily just a student athlete, but just be Lily
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: as a person. And what did that look like? So
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: explore a lot my freshman year and fast forward to
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: senior year and I am obviously a gymnast, I'm a
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: student athlete. Another pocket of my life is mechanical engineering.
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: Absolutely have just grown to love it.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: I'm just I feel like I need to give a
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: round of a plot a complete nerve for.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: It, and I just like I love math. I have
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: loved like my classes and it's a completely different community.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: Some of it blends and like being able to see
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: some different pockets in different spaces where it can blend,
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: and seeing some of my classmates at the dymnastics meets
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: it was really cool. But that's a pocket. FCA is
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: a big pocket. My life of service wrapping the sweat
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: trough right now. But that is where I've just been
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: able to just really put my identity in and just
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: really serve other people and then just other things like
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: just teammates, just friends outside. I've loved Clemson so much,
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: I've loved the South, So I've been really able to
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: just create a whole person out of Lily over the
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: past four years. And I would say I'm pretty proud
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: of what I've become.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I remember that first Zoom call where we
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: met Lily and I was in like a Starbucks drive
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: through or something, and I saw this little like spring
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: chicken on my phone. Like you were so like bright
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: eyed and bushy tailed and so no, but it.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: Was so cute, Like really it was you were.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: So excited to speak with us and like learn about
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: who we were and learn about Clemson and all of
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: the things. And you came in and you made everyone
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: grip bags too, Like it was so adorable, and like
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: I just thought to myself, you are the most like
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: well rounded freshman that could come into Clemson, and even
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: like going through Clemson now and like being able to
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: watch your experience here too, and seeing how much you've grown,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Like I already thought you were grown coming in, but
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: then seeing who you are now, it's just amazing to see,
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: like you were the most like excited person I had
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: ever met, and I was so excited that you were coming.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember, man, I literally remember that Zoom called
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: exactly where I was, and I just I remember looking
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: at you guys and just being so excited about just
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: like having a team and like this idea of being
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: able to build a program at a school like Clemson
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: that already had so much excellence, and just man, there
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: was so much positivity around starting the program, and just man,
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: I was just so excited about it.
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: And it was so fun.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: I have learned so much from it, and these past
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: four years have literally been just the best four years
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: of my life. And some of them have been challenging,
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: but I will say they've been the best just because
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: I've developed so much as a person. I've learned so
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: much as a person, because I mean, I came in
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: and there was like there were some things that I
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: was good at, but there's been so many things in
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: the past four years that I've learned from, like the
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: people around me, And it's been so cool to like
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: look back and reflect on the influence that people have
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: had on me, and just I look at my teammates,
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: and I look like, like at people like as successful
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: as you with you and your podcast and stuff, and
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: just like being inspired by so many different people to
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: to just build a better character for myself and I'm
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: so grateful for it.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: What was that like coming into something that's never been
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: done before? Because you were committed to LSU growing up
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: and then you switched over to Clemson. How big of
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: that a jump was that to come to something that
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: was kind of non existent at the time. Like what
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: kept you motivated to want to come here?
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: So many things. I think the biggest one was just
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: the stay of excellence like Clemson had, Like I remember
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: just I would say, like coming on a tour but
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: there wasn't really much to see, but just like what
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: you could see just in Clemson and the amount of
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: community support that all the sports have here and just
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: how excited people are for Clemson, the standard of excellence
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: in the academics. Like I said before, like I'm just
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: a big nerd, So just the academics was like super
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: important to me. And it was just excited to see
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: how many resources they had here, especially for the things
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: that I wanted to do. And yeah, just knowing just
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: how great of how great programs are here and freshman
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: year and they're like, yeah, we're gonna add another one
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: and like, well, surely it's gonna be great. Yeah, like
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: we've seen what's happened before. Of course it's gonna be great.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: And like arted right, and y'all, y'all picked me to
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: be like one of the few people that like that
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: gets to be a part of this that gets to
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: have a piece in creating a legacy, creating like a history,
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: creating the future and setting Clemson Dymastics up. And yeah,
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: it's been so cool and such an honor.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: I feel like it's a huge testimony to you and Clemson,
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: like taking a jump from an established program to something
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: that just wasn't even created yet, testing the process, trusting
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: and like everything and the year we had off and
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: the driving to gyms here and there, like there were
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: a lot of things that were definitely challenging. Yeah, but
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: like you persevere.
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: Well even as a freshman to like, yeah, okay, I'm
• 14:52
  Speaker 4: not gonna compete in my first year. And you were
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: the only freshman.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: She was the only one. We had already had collegiate
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: years under our belt too, so knew what it was like.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: You were coming into this all brand new.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, And I mean I look back on it and
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: I'm just thinking of like how much we learned from
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: like having to get up at six am and go
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: drive out to easily, and like having to like we
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: knew the excellence that was coming, and like being able
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: to learn like patience and like waiting for the gym
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: and like watching it get built and just being able
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: to to just wait and see and you just build,
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: just wait and see and build and build and build.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: And finally, like when we got the facility and it
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: was just like we looked at it and I just
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: t to be like, wow, this is nice. Oh my goodness,
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: Like you never thought that it would like honestly, you
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: just never thought that it would ever happen, And just
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: being able to do it side by side, and like
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: you put the grit in, you put the grind in
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: and just seeing the success of that and then just
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: seeing their resources start stocking up in your favor to
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: just continue working, and that's like what provides the motivation
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: to like keep going. Like day in and day out
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: was like we'd get more updates about the gym, we'd
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: get more updates about the season, or we'd hear something
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: about man, like we can't wait for Clemson dymnastics, and
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: like that was one of the coolest things. Was like
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: we would wrap the Clemson dramastic shirt and like we
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: we didn't have a program, so we didn't know a team.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: So we were wrapping these shirts and like some people
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: you walk around, they'd be like, we didn't know we
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: had a gymastics team. I'm like, we don't yet. Come
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: next year.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: Come next year, yeah, literally.
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: And then some other people that would just like come
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: up to you and like we were like not competing really,
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: like we're not competing in Little John and like people
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: didn't really know us. But there were some like families
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: and just some people that come up to us and
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: be like, Wow, you're Lily Lippe or you're Eve Jackson,
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: and like we cannot wait for the Clempson dymastics team,
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: and we are just so excited and my daughter like,
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: We're gonna come all the way from from Charleston to
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: come watch. We're like we're another state schools team fan
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: in South Carolina that I won't name, but like we're
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: Cmson dynastics fans, and man, like that just really keeps
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: you going.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: I think that was so The thing that was so
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: cool about our first year is that we got to
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: build a community too with the people of Clemson. Like
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: we weren't competing, so we didn't have to worry about
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: like the stress of competing on our backs or anything
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: like that. But we got to meet people, We got
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: to get involved with school, with academics, everything else, and
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: like you immersed yourself in everything. Yeah, they're possibly everything
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: and everything. And I think that's so important too, because
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: like it lets people know like who you are too,
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: and like what type of character you have.
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was super important to me to just, man,
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: you know, get every little piece of Clemson that I could.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: And my freshman year, like it's just like eyes are
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: wide and like man that clemeson Well they'll tell you something.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: They're like, man, we've got this program, we got this resource,
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: and I'm like, oh my gosh, me me, me, mete
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: and like being able to like be a part of it.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: And man, I think that set me up so well
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: for going into like sophomore junior, senior year, just because like,
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: as you get busier with classes and then we started competing,
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: and having that year off of competing helps people like
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: to train to get ready for college and like also
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: balance academics and what that looks like to be in
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: a college student, what that looks like to live just
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: away from home and to live with roommates, and you know,
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: to navigate the whole Like the whole thing turned eighteen
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: while I was here, and just like, wow, I'm an
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: adult now, Oh my goodness, I have to do adult things.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: No, you were like the litteral baby.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: I was child.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Another major thing that happened to was a coaching change
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: this year. Not many people have to go through that
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: in their collegiate experience. Can you explain how that process
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: has been for you? Meeting Justin and Liz having them
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: come in. What has that been like?
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, honestly, just created so much like curiosity on the
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: team of just excitement when I found out that Liz
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: and Justin were going to be our coaches. Man, I
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: was so excited because I know, like they had just
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: have a history of just greatness in the sport, history
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: of like just being so educated and so creative and
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: just seeing just like their seasons at cal Berkeley, I
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: was just just enthralled by their creativity for the sport.
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: And so that's what I was most excited about. And
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: it's been so cool to see just how smart they
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: are and how educated they are with the support of gymnastics,
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: because there are some nuances too.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: They're so smart.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's some nuances to gymnastics of like you can
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: look at routines and be like, wow, that was super creative,
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: Like wow, you can tell like Eve Jackson, like the
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: dismount that you do on being like you're meant to
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: do that, like you're recon answering, like you're gainer full,
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: like it looks good, and just like being able to
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: see the way that they're so intentional with every athlete
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: and so creative and just makes the sport fun. Yeah,
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: and there're not skills that are like cookie cutter men
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: for everyone. They're able to tell like based on who
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: you are as a person, like your personality, like your
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: body type, what's gonna work for you, and they intertwine
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: that in your routines. Yeah, and Liz talks about it
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: like the highlights of like the different skills and then
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: being able to just just be so smart with like
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: corrections and drills and I feel like I'm getting better
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: at gymnastics and and things that in my head I
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: was like, oh, I probably won't ever do this again,
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: and Liz is like Liz challenges us, and Justin challenges
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: us like Nope, you're gonna do that again, and okay, okay,
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: like I trust you, Like I don't know if I
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: trust myself right out, but like I trust you, and
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: just being able to just I just appreciate it how
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: educated they are, how curious, like how curious they are
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: about the sport of gymnastics, and how they really just
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: their passion is to grow the sport and that goes
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: all the way up to the level of like the
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: whole team and like they want to grow like Clemson
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: Gymnastics in you know, winning championships and like setting ourselves
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: up to like be at that national championship level like caliber,
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: but also like down to holistically like the athlete level
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: of like, man, how can we make the sport enjoyable
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: for you? Just from all aspects of it. So it's
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: been really.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: One of our core values this year is joy. Can
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: you tell me how that core value is instilled within
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: you doing gymnastics?
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think a big part of it just came
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: natural after surgery of just man, it had been so
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: long since I had done dymnastics, like without pain, and
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: like just there is a huge sense of confidence, I
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: think naturally and being able to get up on bars
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: and be like, man, I can do this. Yeah, Like
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: I'm not worried about my capability, like my capabilities, like
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: I'm not. I know that my coaches trust me, I
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: trust myself, I trust my arm Man. Goodness, that's been
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: a big event of just like adding joy and like
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: it has been so cool, like just to see the
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: team grow and like I think that there's there's little
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: things that I could say about everyone. Yeah, that the
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: coaches have challenged us to grow in and the growth
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: is what I feel like creates the joy because it's
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: just like I look at the girls on the team
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: and just being able to see teammates and like, man,
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: like you got one day better yeah, which is our Like, man,
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: it's the the coaches just mantra for every day. It's
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: like one day Better.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: It's based off a book, Yeah too, and one day Better.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: I think that's what creates the joy for me, is
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: to be able to see people and like see like
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: Eve like just even the past few weeks like shout
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: you out on like your dismounts some bars and just
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: like I have the first meet like it it may
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: not have gone the way that you wanted it to,
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: Like you get back in the gym and like you
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: just have this fire to like get better, like this
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: fire that like I don't think that we've seen like
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: until this year, like in the program of like wanting
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: to get better and like that one day Better thing,
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: and like it's the coolest thing to just like go
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: into the gym every day and to see different girls
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: doing different like doing new events that they they didn't
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: believe they could do before, and just to see the
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: way the coaches challenge and inspire us and encourage us.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: And I just I don't feel like I don't feel
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: like we're competing anymore. I feel like we're just trying
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: to do the best we possibly can to see man,
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: what is the limit for Eve Jackson And like you
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: will never reach there, but like how much better can
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: you get? One day better?
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: And it's just so cool.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: I think we don't realize the potential that we do
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: have this year too. I think these coaches have like
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: done a complete mindset, mindset change on us. And like
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: I think about like the how to do my skills
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: and like the details I would I never even thought
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: about before. Like Justin Justin told me the other day that,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: like I need to point my toes on my yager
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: and I was, like, I never thought about that in
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: my entire collegiate career, pointing my toes in my aager,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: Like I probably should have thought of that, but like
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: I never did. And like having him switch that has
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: changed the.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: Skill yeah for me, And it makes you like so
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: excited to compete.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And it makes all of the difference. It's it's
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: crazy to even think about like just the how you
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: do things, like focusing on that instead of like what
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: the things that you do mean. I think that's something
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: that's really really changed in my head space for it.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think just like the one day better
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: like makes you want to Like I've been I've never
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: been so excited to compete because like the idea point
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: your toes on your on your yigger, which is like
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: a released movie doing bars and it's like so simple.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: But it's like now, like man, I can't wait till
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: I get to go out and compete and like see
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: what happens and see what happens to my score when
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: I point my toes on my eigger or like for me,
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: it's like like trying like my form and like my
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: posture on beam and like, man, I can't wait to
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: see what happens when I like when I put this
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: into play, and it's just like breaking down this whole
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: big champion like national championship mindset. Yeah, and like the
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: national championship doesn't come from like literally just deciding it
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: at nationals, like it comes from the pointing your toes
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: on your egg and like comes really excited about.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: Those little things, yes, every day that we never thought
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: about until now, I'm so excited about them. Yeah, it's
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: really cool, well cool to put those like little tents
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: back into our scores. We're able to see it too.
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's awesome that there are children of all ages
• 25:11
  Speaker 4: in South Carolina who are in need of a forever home.
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: Many are teens, siblings, or have complex medical needs. Public
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: adoption through the South Carolina Department of Social Services can
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: be not only life changing for them, it can be
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: life changing for you too. When you provide stability, guidance,
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: and support, you're giving a young person the foundation to
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: succeed in school, work and life. In return, you'll gain
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: a meaningful connection. Learn more about public adoption in South
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: Carolina at DSS dot SC dot gov. Now back to
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: the show. Speaking of joy, there is so much joy
• 25:45
  Speaker 4: at your meats, which is the fans and well one,
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: you all celebrating each other. I always think gymnastics are
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: cool because it's kind of individual right when you're doing
• 25:54
  Speaker 4: your routines, but it's such a team sport too, and
• 25:57
  Speaker 4: the pure joy on people's faces after you finish something.
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: I love the team celebrations. But talk to me about
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: the dance party in Little John. What is that experience like?
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Are you referring to like the dance party on floor,
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: like the dance pready after.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: No, the dance party afterwards, yeah afterwards, Yeah, afterwards. That's
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: a new thing that we instilled this year. Yes, dance
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: party with little kids. Yeah, for twenty minutes.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's it's just cool to like see like
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: just fresh like young faces who like honestly, like they
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: don't know anything about the world yet, but like they
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: look they look at us and they're just so excited.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: I honestly, Okay, I'm gonna be honest. I can't tell
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: if they're excited to see me or if they're excited
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: to just be on the floor.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah either way.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but either way, they're excited about Clemson dymnastics and
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: just like to see man, just like see myself like
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: in these like little kids and just man, like wish
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: I could just like just tell them, like don't lose that,
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: like don't lose that joy and that excitement of just
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: like man, you have so much, so much impact that
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: you can leave on the world. And I know, like
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: in the moment, I'm not thinking that I'm gonna be
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: honest because like.
• 27:18
  Speaker 5: I'm like, wow, I need food, Like I'm tired, I
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: need food.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: I need to get out of this leo. But like
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: just being able to like see the girls and man,
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: see how excited the parents are. Like I've been able
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: to go like up in the crowd like a little
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: bit and just kind of hear from the parents and
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: just being able to be like you know, like sometimes yeah,
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: sometimes it is about like, yeah, let's win an accu
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: shimi chip. Like sometimes it is about let's beat the
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: other team. And you know, at the end of the
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: day we win or lose. There is gonna be a
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: six year old up there that is just so excited
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: to see you. And they may not know your name,
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: but they know you're a part of Clinton Gymnastics. They
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: may know your fluoroutine yep, that's yep. They like they
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: may come up to you and be like, you're my
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: favorite athlete because of your flour music. But I don't
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: know your name, but you know what, at the end
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: of the day, it doesn't And like just being able
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: to see the joy on their faces and just know
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: that they look up to us encourages me to have
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: higher standards for myself in and out of the gym
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: so that I can be a good role model for them.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think it's such like a little sacrifice,
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: like after the meet, like I know, everyone's tired, everyone
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: wants to go home see their families. It's something so
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: small that makes such a huge impact on these little
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: girls too, and like you know, like you said before,
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: like we were them, you know.
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: Do you see yourself in those little girls?
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: For sure? I was definitely those little girls growing up.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: I definitely wanted to get a signature from my favorite gymnast.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: I wanted to tell her that I had her fluorutine down.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: I wanted to tell her that I'm going to take
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: her spot one day on the team. Like I definitely
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: had the like moxie and motivation that all of these
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: little girls I know that they have as well too,
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: So it's always cool to interact with them. And you know,
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: they're some of some of them are like so nervous
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: and so so shy, and like I was a little
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: shy too, but like being like, oh, like do you
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: want a picture? Like do you want to learn this dance?
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: Like something like that.
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: Like it's it's it's.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: So easy to be inclusive of these like young girls
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: because like we were once them, we know how they feel.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: They're scared, like they see someone like oh my gosh,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: like a collegiate athlete. You know, like they're so scared.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: But like it's so cool to include them and like
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: it's so easy to do and I think it's so
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: important to Clemson gymnastics as a program too, Like we
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: want to be those athletes that are well rounded and
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: that actually like come up to you after a game
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: or a meet and like speak to you and like,
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: I don't know, it's it's just super important.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I was just thinking about it, like as you
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: were talking about it, Like we were the first girls
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: I got to do that. Yeah, Like we were the
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: first Clemson gymnasts that like little kids got to look
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: up to.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: Mm hmm.
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: And man, like that's such like an honor and I'm
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: just so grateful that, Like, man, when the program started,
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: like you've got these like little kids that love Clemson,
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: but in their heads they've got to support some other,
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: some other team because Clemson doesn't have a dymastics team,
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: And we got to be the first people that these
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: girls looked at and like saw their post, like sawar poster,
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: and we're like, man, I love Clemson and I grew
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: up being a Cumson fan, and now I have someone
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: that I can root for, someone that someone that looks
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: like me, someone that's wearing a leo like I wear
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: a leo, someone that whose favorite event is bars, like
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: my favorite.
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: Event is bars.
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: Those are the little thing and just like the little
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: things that like, man, it's just such an honor that
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: we got to do that first.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and like twenty years down the line too, we
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: can like a little girl will say like, well, I'm
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: at the first ever like Clemson gymnasts. Yeah, you know,
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: like that is so cool, like we made history and
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: that's something that's we you know.
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: You got a treasure.
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. I want to transfer over to mechanical engineering.
• 30:58
  Speaker 4: Okay, that was hard for me to say mechanical very similar.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: That was hard for me to say. Your major is
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: incredibly hard for me to fathom even explain what got
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: you interested in that, why you want to do it,
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: what you want to pursue after college.
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: Also we'll get into your internships.
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: Okay, but yeah, yeah, So I came to Clemson knowing
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: I want to do engineering, not really sure what type.
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: But the cool thing about Clempson is you can do
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: a general engineering. So for the first year, it just
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: got to dip my toes in the water see if
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: I was good at it. Because I'm very much like
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: a black and white person. Something about Clemson I've I've
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: been learning to like be more flexible and be more
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: like open minded. But at my like heart black and white.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: I love math because math has answers and like there's
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: always like a right answer to math, and that kind
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: of blends into just my love for just like, man,
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: how do things work? Like the things that we have
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: in this world? How do they work? How did you
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: get them? What's a history like behind how you get them?
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: What's the process of of why things work? And so
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: got to do some like different meet the major's programs
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: that like general engineering does, and got to figure out
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: like what life looks like as a mechanical engineer. And
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: that's when I kind of, you know, committed to it,
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: hope that it would stick.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: And was it instantly easy when you first came in
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: or did you have points where you were like, oh,
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: like this is gonna take a lot more effort.
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there was. There was a point my freshman year
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: where I realized what I was going to have to sacrifice,
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: and I had to decide, like is a sacrifice going
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: to be worth it? And at that point I didn't know,
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: like cause you never know, like, man, maybe I could
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: get to my junior year and I could hate it
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: or something. So I just had to fully commit to
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: like the sacrifice of like, you know, people are gonna
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: be at the football games all day. You know, I
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: gotta leave early. I gotta do my homework or.
• 33:01
  Speaker 3: Like on.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: Because she took a picture of me this past semester
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: with my computer at a tailgate. It was Sears Family's tailgate,
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: which is like she just go and she I'm in
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: this full decked out sequent outfit because always Queen of Sparkles,
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: Queen of Sparkle's full sequin outfit with my computer open,
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: because I was working on one of our senior design
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: like projects and UT.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: Was totally not the vibe for a computer thing at all.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: People are out there throwing like balls and like.
• 33:37
  Speaker 5: Doing like Cornwall, you're playing Gordon exactly well also throwing
• 33:41
  Speaker 5: the football too. Yeah, people are eating, chatting it up,
• 33:46
  Speaker 5: it's loud, it's hot, and Lily's sitting over there in
• 33:50
  Speaker 5: a corner with a fan like based toward her doing
• 33:53
  Speaker 5: her homework.
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because I had to.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: Capture that I have was a beautiful moment and it's
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: treasured and I was so funny.
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: But I like I do still struggle with like fomo,
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: I love comes in football, so I'm like, I'm gonna
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: be there, but I also have been I've had to
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: learn like discipline and like what am I gonna say
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: no to so that I can still like be successful in.
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: What I want to do.
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: But like where are their points where you know, yeah,
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: I could push this off for yeah, you know what
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: I can. I can stay up a little bit later,
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: or I can wake up a little bit earlier to
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: get it done and just you know, still like just
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: be well rounded. So yeah, it did have to, like
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: my freshman year just kind of make sacrifices, but I
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: learned so much that I just like love it and
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: it's it's it was super challenging, and I mean I
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: know that you've heard it about like just throughout being teammates,
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: but it's just so interesting to me. And there's so
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: much that you can learn with mechanical engineering and just
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: like the way that things work.
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: That I don't know.
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: It just gets me excited, even though some some of
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: it's boring, some of it's like man, I don't really
• 34:59
  Speaker 2: care about that, but just the overall idea of like
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: learning how the way the world works through just mechanics
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: of things and improvements to make make people's lives better.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: As a student athlete, it is so hard to manage
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: your schoolwork, your time, like all of this stuff, and
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: with an incredibly hard major like this, I don't know
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: how you do it because there aren't enough hours in
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: the day. Genuinely, Yeah, So like how do you how
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: do you balance?
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: Got to say no to a lot of things. Oh,
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: like you mentioned, I decided I'm like super firm in
• 35:38
  Speaker 2: especially now that I'm a senior of like the different
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: pockets of my life. One of them is gymnastics, one
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: of them's school, one of them's like my personal faith,
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: and one of them's FCI. And so those are the
• 35:52
  Speaker 2: things that like I have been wanting to be so
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: intentional about and like a lot of other things I've
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: got to say no to, yeah, and like that sucks,
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: but I love those four things in my life, and
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: so if something doesn't fall in that, like if I've
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: got time for it, then yeah, like I'll say.
• 36:07
  Speaker 3: Yes to it.
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: Like those are my priorities.
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: And where's line dancing?
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: Dancing is an extra thing? So line dancing is an
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: extra thing that I picked up this year that I
• 36:20
  Speaker 2: love to dance. Someone got me into line dancing. My
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: friends from FCI got me into line dancings. You know,
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: it kind of fits a little bit about Yeah, but yeah,
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: so kind of just define the priorities and also took
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: I've taken classes every summer semester, so my after my
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: freshman year, I had a full load of classes. I
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: had eleven credits my summer semester, and you know, just
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: build it up constantly, like taking classes that way, I
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: can you know, even it out during the year, especially
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: in the spring semester, so that I don't have to
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: take as many credits. And like also just asking for help. Yeah,
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: just like creating community of like a working relationship with
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: my professors for if I need help, just because there's
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: so many educated people like around Clemson, and there's different
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: ways to learn, and just to be able to just
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: put yourself in the best opportunity for learning. That was
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: I don't know, it was just kind of a game
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: changer for me.
• 37:16
  Speaker 4: You don't have to do it alone, yeah, exactly. So
• 37:18
  Speaker 4: what's cool is you figured out your resources. Okay, before
• 37:21
  Speaker 4: you talk about your internships, we had a moment and
• 37:24
  Speaker 4: this might have been two summers ago, yeah or something,
• 37:27
  Speaker 4: but you came to me and I always try not
• 37:29
  Speaker 4: to give advice because no one has to live like
• 37:33
  Speaker 4: getting advice from people. You don't have to live with
• 37:35
  Speaker 4: their opinions, like it's only your life. So you had
• 37:39
  Speaker 4: really cool opportunities, like internship offer. After an internship offer,
• 37:44
  Speaker 4: we were working on it, and I think maybe it
• 37:46
  Speaker 4: was like FBI or something, but you were waiting. You're
• 37:51
  Speaker 4: holding out for the internship that I think you did
• 37:53
  Speaker 4: get yes, and you came to.
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: Me and you were like, what should I do?
• 37:57
  Speaker 4: I thinking, I'm like, Okay, I don't really want to
• 37:59
  Speaker 4: give you advice, and I remember sharing some advice that
• 38:02
  Speaker 4: I had gotten that was really good, and it was like,
• 38:04
  Speaker 4: when you're making a decision, what is the thing that
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: if you made the decision, would you always wonder what
• 38:10
  Speaker 4: the other thing was or would you be comfortable with
• 38:13
  Speaker 4: your decision? I remember it now and so I'm like,
• 38:16
  Speaker 4: Lily's gonna be working for the FBI, Like how cool.
• 38:19
  Speaker 4: And then you come back the next day and you're like,
• 38:21
  Speaker 4: I declined it, and I think I spiraled for like
• 38:23
  Speaker 4: a day, like what.
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: Did I do?
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: Did I give her a bad advice?
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: I went against my own I remember declining that too,
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: and I was personal.
• 38:32
  Speaker 4: I should have never doubted you, Lily, because you knew
• 38:35
  Speaker 4: the whole time you trusted the process, it worked out
• 38:37
  Speaker 4: so perfectly for you. But I remember when you told
• 38:40
  Speaker 4: me and like, don't let your face react, don't let.
• 38:42
  Speaker 3: Lily know that you're taking out right now.
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember you would sit it and spent a
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: lot of time just around the student athlete development space
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: like that, I think is what has created me to
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: be the person that I am and just given me
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: so much encouragement of like just what I could do
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: you with academics and with my career. But I remember
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: you saying like, would like honestly, like would you what
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: would you be okay with? And yeah, I had the
• 39:13
  Speaker 2: the internship from offer from the FBI, and I had
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: a few other internship things, and I was like, I
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: would be okay if I if I turned this down
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: and I never got an internship.
• 39:23
  Speaker 3: It was like getting late in timing.
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: Oh for sure, for sure, we're like March, Yeah, March
• 39:28
  Speaker 2: internship start in May like everyone else got an internship.
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: And I was like, you know what, spent a lot
• 39:32
  Speaker 2: of prayer about it, and I was like, I would
• 39:35
  Speaker 2: be okay if I didn't get one. I'd be okay
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: just for like the potential chance that I got the
• 39:42
  Speaker 2: internship that I did get.
• 39:43
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I'm so sorry you expressed No, it all worked.
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: Can you explain the internship you did get and what
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: you did?
• 39:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So I was see how I can explain this
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: in the best way. I was the six manufacturing intern
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: for lockeed Martin up in Greenville. So I worked in
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: the F sixteen plant, which is a fighter jet, and
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: it was about the coolest thing that I think I
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: have ever done, because day one in there, we were
• 40:13
  Speaker 2: on the just the manufacturing product floor of the F sixteen's.
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: Got to see them up at the Donaldson Airport. Their
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: process there is completing the whole jet, right, so the
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: only way that the plane leaves, like that's the end step.
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: So you honestly can hear them fly out sometimes.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: I remember we were at practice one time or something
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: and I heard the thing and you were like, oh,
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: that's an F sixteen, or like yeah, that's a Fighter
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: Get or something, so you can how.
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: Do you know that you can see them sometimes when
• 40:45
  Speaker 2: they leave and when they finished building them. And so
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: I felt like the best way I explained it to
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: other people is like just you're like building Legos, so
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: just really really big Legos, really important Legos. The same
• 41:00
  Speaker 2: tolerance is actually fun fact that Lego has some really
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: high tolerances, which is so interesting. It's why you can
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: build you can use Lego parts from like twenty years
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: ago on Lego pieces today because of the high tolerances.
• 41:12
  Speaker 3: So yeah, he goes sixteen.
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, same thing or same thing. So man, it
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: was cool, Like I loved I love planes. I just
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: love him because it's like, man, like, what a way
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: to connect people, and like to connect people that live
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: just so many miles apart, thousands of miles apart, and
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: you can connect them with just a flight over. You
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: can protect people with them, you can ship things with them.
• 41:37
  Speaker 4: You know.
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: I love when my Amazon packages come in really quick,
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: and just love like just the way that they connect
• 41:44
  Speaker 2: people and connect things and just you know, I feel
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: like there's there's a lot of goodness in that when
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: you use it the right way. And so yeah, it
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: was super cool just being able to spend all day
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: and just completely nerd out on f sixtys and just
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: love them. Got to got to sit in a few
• 42:03
  Speaker 2: of them and just figure it out.
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: There were special boots. You had to wear a special
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: gear you.
• 42:08
  Speaker 2: Had to Yeah, so not necessarily boots, but I did
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: have to go shopping because you know, there's there's business
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: casual and there's engineering business casual. So when you're working
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: on a manufacturing floor, one, there's like FOUD protection, which
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: is like for an object damage debris. So on any
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: flight line that you're on, whether it's manufacturing, whether it's
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: like in the military where there it's like at an airport,
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: you can't have anything on you so you can't have
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: like jewelry, you can't have anything that could fall in
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: the aircraft. So we had like you know, like the
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: attire scene. But I think what you're probably thinking.
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: Of is.
• 42:50
  Speaker 2: I went out and got had to go shopping for
• 42:53
  Speaker 2: some like manufacturing pants because I originally was like, oh,
• 42:56
  Speaker 2: business casual was a dress code. So I'm buying like
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: nice business casual. You know, I want to address the part. Well,
• 43:02
  Speaker 2: day one, I'm in the manufacturing shop floor and I'm like, hoof,
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: I'm wearing the wrong shoes. So I'm wearing the wrong pants.
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: So I had to go out and go find some
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: like manufacturing work wear, and yeah, and the only thing
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: that I could share about my internship was my outfits
• 43:21
  Speaker 2: before I got there, because you can't take any pictures.
• 43:24
  Speaker 2: I ended up getting interim like government security clearance for it,
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: so I would share he probably knows this. I would
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: share my coffee of the day in my outfit.
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: Of the day, so i'd give that would be looking
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: forward to those outfits.
• 43:38
  Speaker 2: And it was at four am every morning, so every
• 43:40
  Speaker 2: time crazy long days, yes, because at that time the
• 43:43
  Speaker 2: internship was so late that it was also taking classes. Yeah.
• 43:47
  Speaker 2: So my day in training, yes, and training was my
• 43:51
  Speaker 2: day was insane. I would wake up at about four
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: four thirty, would leave at five, get to work at six.
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: You work ten hours.
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: This is in the summer, in the summer.
• 44:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, And so i'd be done at four thirty.
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: Then I would text my coaches, hey, I'm on my
• 44:10
  Speaker 2: way to practice. It was an hour back. And would
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: train from probably like six to seven thirty. And then
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: I would go home a log on my school, and
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: then I would make sure the one thing, the only
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: way I was able to do this, I had to
• 44:23
  Speaker 2: be in bed at eight thirty. I did not do
• 44:26
  Speaker 2: much else that entire summer. I did have Fridays off,
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: so I got most of my school work done then
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: and then all the weekends and still had a little
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: bit of time for some fun out on the lake
• 44:34
  Speaker 2: or the beach or something. But I'm gonna be honest,
• 44:36
  Speaker 2: I did not do much that entire summer besides just work.
• 44:40
  Speaker 2: But it was such a cool experience. I learned a
• 44:42
  Speaker 2: lot about engineering. I learned a lot about just like
• 44:45
  Speaker 2: technical problem solving. I learned a lot about like how
• 44:48
  Speaker 2: do I apply my academics into the real world. What
• 44:51
  Speaker 2: are the things that I love? Found out I loved manufacturing,
• 44:54
  Speaker 2: and I just love like the whole process of like
• 44:56
  Speaker 2: the product or the idea of like building legos. And
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: also it was just like cool.
• 45:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 45:01
  Speaker 2: People all be like, oh, what'd you do this summer?
• 45:03
  Speaker 2: I'm like, oh, I just worked on at sixteen.
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: It's like, were you only one of how many interns there?
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: I'm not actually sure. I know I worked with like
• 45:15
  Speaker 2: a group of interns. A lot of they had. In
• 45:18
  Speaker 2: an engineering typical engineering manufacturing plant, you have production engineers,
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: you have industrial engineers, manufacturing engineers, system engineers, tooling engineers,
• 45:27
  Speaker 2: lots of different types of engineers. I get a manufacturing
• 45:29
  Speaker 2: plant running, so we probably had a few of F
• 45:34
  Speaker 2: sixteen manufacturing interns, and then it's also broken down, I guess,
• 45:38
  Speaker 2: just like into subsections. It's a typical manufacturing plant, so
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: you're not engineering the whole thing. And so yeah, there's
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: like a couple of different people that I worked with, one
• 45:49
  Speaker 2: of the only girls, which kind of has just been
• 45:52
  Speaker 2: a natural aspect of mechanical engineering. And women in STEM. Yeah,
• 45:57
  Speaker 2: women in STEM for sure. There have been some parts
• 46:00
  Speaker 2: where I'm like, wow, like so inspired to be a
• 46:03
  Speaker 2: woman in STAM and other part where I'm like, man, okay,
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: can we figure this out please?
• 46:09
  Speaker 3: But yeah, it's cool, what do you think you want
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: to do? And gymnastics are over.
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: I see planes in Lily's future.
• 46:19
  Speaker 2: Absolutely planes in my future. I think that I would
• 46:24
  Speaker 2: be happy anywhere around planes. It's gonna be a long story,
• 46:28
  Speaker 2: but I love manufacturing, so I think I would be
• 46:31
  Speaker 2: really excited to anything in manufacturing. However, just feeling a
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: little bit of the call to join the military, and
• 46:41
  Speaker 2: I know that you guys have like known a bit
• 46:44
  Speaker 2: about it and it's been a long process. But just
• 46:49
  Speaker 2: long story short, and we can dive into it if
• 46:51
  Speaker 2: you want to, but just overview, I've got the chance
• 46:57
  Speaker 2: to fly. I've got the desired and just kind of
• 47:02
  Speaker 2: desire felt the Lord's calling to to, you know, apply
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: because to be an officer in the military, you have
• 47:09
  Speaker 2: to apply. It's different than enlisting. And I'm in that
• 47:13
  Speaker 2: process right now. All I know is I've been called
• 47:18
  Speaker 2: to apply. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it
• 47:20
  Speaker 2: all the way through. I have learned so much through
• 47:23
  Speaker 2: the application period. But man, I would love to in
• 47:29
  Speaker 2: a year come back and be able to say that
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: I did it, that I was able to get qualified,
• 47:35
  Speaker 2: I was able to suman application because it's been a
• 47:38
  Speaker 2: long time that I've heard a lot of nos, just
• 47:42
  Speaker 2: with different things, one of them being like my shoulder.
• 47:45
  Speaker 2: But we've got it fixed now. So man, just being
• 47:48
  Speaker 2: patient with it. But you know, if it's something that
• 47:52
  Speaker 2: I set my heart on now and I hear know,
• 47:54
  Speaker 2: you know you learn from it. Learned a lot from
• 47:57
  Speaker 2: this experience, and you know you keep going. But man,
• 47:59
  Speaker 2: I would love to be a military officer in the
• 48:03
  Speaker 2: United States Marine Corps.
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I see it in your future. Can you
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: talk to us about your faith as well. I had
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: the privilege to attend your testimony at New Spring and
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: it was amazing. You don't have to share all of
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: it if you don't want to, but just a little bit.
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: I think it's so important for people to hear because
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: it just shows your character and how much you've grown
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: through the things that hit you with adversity, your challenges
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: you've faced, and it's made you who you are today.
• 48:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm so glad that you asked me that question.
• 48:31
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I got to share my testimony at fc
• 48:35
  Speaker 2: eighth Thursday Night, nine nineteen, which was so cool, such
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: a full circle moment because I remember FCA was one
• 48:40
  Speaker 2: of the first things that I went to and I'm
• 48:42
  Speaker 2: now the serving as the Women's Athletic Coordinator, So I
• 48:47
  Speaker 2: like to say up with A and FCI. I'm here
• 48:49
  Speaker 2: at Clemson. It's just an all student gathering and I
• 48:52
  Speaker 2: get to help lead and serve with our athletics side
• 48:55
  Speaker 2: of it. So creating opportunities to share the gospel and
• 48:58
  Speaker 2: for just different communities.
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: Been on FASIS too.
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: I got to go on a mission trip to the
• 49:05
  Speaker 2: Dominican Republic with FCI, and I'm now leading and organizing
• 49:10
  Speaker 2: the mission trips also learning about it. But yeah, so
• 49:13
  Speaker 2: I know we talked like previously about the curly Ranch.
• 49:16
  Speaker 2: I grew up in an environment of just high performance,
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: of putting your worth in gymnastics, and I was told
• 49:23
  Speaker 2: day in and day out from the age of seven
• 49:25
  Speaker 2: or eight that my worth was in gymnastics. And it
• 49:29
  Speaker 2: created just this idol of accomplishment because I was really good.
• 49:33
  Speaker 2: And there was a time where it's like man like
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: I was getting everything that I wanted to, and like
• 49:38
  Speaker 2: it was easy to put my identity in something that
• 49:40
  Speaker 2: was successful and it was like, wow, go me, I'm
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: so cool and competing with all these people and all
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: this is great. And I grew up in a Christian home,
• 49:48
  Speaker 2: but I didn't really understand like my faith that much,
• 49:51
  Speaker 2: didn't really understand the gospel and the way of like
• 49:53
  Speaker 2: it's now our personal relationship with Jesus for me, and
• 49:57
  Speaker 2: I just into this trap of anxiety and just depression,
• 50:02
  Speaker 2: and it got really bad after I fractured my back
• 50:06
  Speaker 2: during COVID, just fell in his trap of isolation and
• 50:09
  Speaker 2: the idol that I had was just stripped away from me.
• 50:12
  Speaker 2: So this idol of accomplishment accumulation, and I had nothing,
• 50:15
  Speaker 2: and so I'm looking around at my identity and I'm
• 50:18
  Speaker 2: like it's gone. I have nothing like God, why would
• 50:22
  Speaker 2: you do this to me? Like I have nothing in
• 50:24
  Speaker 2: my life and took me to a point where I
• 50:27
  Speaker 2: spent probably a year just contemplating whether my life I
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: was worthy of living it. And I just would wake
• 50:35
  Speaker 2: up every day thinking, man, like people miss you if
• 50:38
  Speaker 2: you were gone? What would happen if you just weren't
• 50:41
  Speaker 2: here anymore? And just really just didn't think my life
• 50:46
  Speaker 2: was worth living. And by the grace of God, I
• 50:50
  Speaker 2: had a spiritual mentor that reached out to me after
• 50:53
  Speaker 2: years of just trying different psychologists, psychiatrists and all these
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: different things because of just the abuse from the Curly Ranch,
• 51:02
  Speaker 2: and reached out to me, wanted to mentor me, walked
• 51:05
  Speaker 2: me through what is now one of my favorite books
• 51:07
  Speaker 2: in the Bible is Roumens, and walked me through just
• 51:12
  Speaker 2: Romans eight and just realized that I had a life
• 51:15
  Speaker 2: outside of my identity in Gymnastics, and I can put
• 51:18
  Speaker 2: my identity in Jesus. And I didn't do anything to
• 51:21
  Speaker 2: deserve it. I didn't do anything to earn it. And
• 51:24
  Speaker 2: it's just the gift of God that I have a
• 51:27
  Speaker 2: new identity. I'm a new creation and I'm not perfect, man,
• 51:30
  Speaker 2: I am not perfect. I mess up every single day,
• 51:32
  Speaker 2: but I get to live my life knowing that there
• 51:34
  Speaker 2: is eternity waiting for me and a restoration with the Father,
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: and I've it. I remember my seventeenth birthday, I had decided.
• 51:44
  Speaker 2: I was like, the Lord has told me that my
• 51:46
  Speaker 2: life is worth living. He has told me that I
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: am an heir to an inheritance, and he has picked me,
• 51:53
  Speaker 2: has knit me in my mother's womb, and he has
• 51:57
  Speaker 2: chosen me. And I have decided that my life is
• 51:59
  Speaker 2: worth living. And I remember my seventeenth birthday deciding that
• 52:03
  Speaker 2: there was never going to be a time again where
• 52:05
  Speaker 2: I contemplated my life not being worth living. And man
• 52:08
  Speaker 2: like that was a death to life transformation and it
• 52:10
  Speaker 2: was it. It took work, like it just it took
• 52:14
  Speaker 2: abiding and what that looks like to be in a
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: relationship with the Lord and a relationship with Jesus, And
• 52:18
  Speaker 2: like that's why it's so important to me. And I think,
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: like when I talk about my faith, it's like a
• 52:22
  Speaker 2: lot of people think, wow, like oh, it's it's just
• 52:24
  Speaker 2: your parents' faith, or like it's just it's just something
• 52:27
  Speaker 2: you grew up in, and it's like no, like I
• 52:28
  Speaker 2: question it and like I was at a point where
• 52:31
  Speaker 2: I did not think that I was going to make
• 52:32
  Speaker 2: it to my seventeenth birthday. I did not think so
• 52:35
  Speaker 2: because I of my own choice and I'm here, and
• 52:40
  Speaker 2: like man if, I have been through death to life transformation,
• 52:43
  Speaker 2: and I don't share with other people what type of
• 52:45
  Speaker 2: person am I, and like have seen this death to
• 52:48
  Speaker 2: life transformation like throughout my life And a lot of
• 52:52
  Speaker 2: the reason that I want to join the military is
• 52:54
  Speaker 2: because it was in twenty twenty four my brother passed
• 53:01
  Speaker 2: away and he was in the Marine Corps and he
• 53:05
  Speaker 2: loved Jesus and he joined the Marine Corps as the
• 53:08
  Speaker 2: Lord told him too. And he shared so much joy,
• 53:12
  Speaker 2: so much love with people, and was just such a
• 53:16
  Speaker 2: faithful presence. And I like he said and like it
• 53:21
  Speaker 2: wrote in his notes, like your faithful presence is your
• 53:23
  Speaker 2: best ministry, and like that was the type of person
• 53:24
  Speaker 2: that he lived by, and like I just remember being
• 53:27
  Speaker 2: absolutely devastated. He was twenty one. I was the one
• 53:29
  Speaker 2: who wrote the obituary for it, and like I just
• 53:32
  Speaker 2: remember like just this weight of like everything, and I
• 53:34
  Speaker 2: was like, God, why does bad things happen to good people?
• 53:37
  Speaker 2: He was such a good person. He loved people so well,
• 53:39
  Speaker 2: he shared the gospel, he shared the light of Jesus
• 53:42
  Speaker 2: so well. Why did you take him away? And like
• 53:44
  Speaker 2: it was just challenged to think, like man, like why
• 53:46
  Speaker 2: do I think that's a bad thing? Like if I
• 53:48
  Speaker 2: personally believe, like in my faith, that there's an eternity
• 53:51
  Speaker 2: and there's a restoration with the Father, and like Noah
• 53:52
  Speaker 2: got to do it just a little bit earlier than
• 53:54
  Speaker 2: I do, why do I think that is a bad thing?
• 53:56
  Speaker 2: And like, man, just the joy, the faith, the assurance
• 54:03
  Speaker 2: that I have, and that there is a creator of
• 54:05
  Speaker 2: the universe who's created all things, who's created me, who's
• 54:09
  Speaker 2: and like I personally believe that he's created everyone so
• 54:13
  Speaker 2: specifically and so intentionally, Like, man, why would I not
• 54:16
  Speaker 2: share that with someone? And Yeah, I know that's long,
• 54:20
  Speaker 2: but like that is why it's been so important to me.
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: I think that's very vulnerable for you to share, truly,
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: Like I think it's such a different perspective than anyone
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: else has. Like, yes, Noah passed away, but he got
• 54:32
  Speaker 1: to be with God sooner than you did, you know,
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: Like it's a different perspective shift that I don't think
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: a lot of people think of and just you sharing
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: your vulnerabilities with the negative self talk and that sort
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: of stuff, like that's truly truly hard to do.
• 54:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, And I don't thank you for asking me
• 54:51
  Speaker 2: that question. I think that's like that literally is the
• 54:53
  Speaker 2: biggest part.
• 54:54
  Speaker 3: Of my life.
• 54:54
  Speaker 2: I think so too, like coming here to Clemson and
• 54:59
  Speaker 2: I knew that I needed that community, and I man,
• 55:03
  Speaker 2: I like still like to this day, like struggle with
• 55:06
  Speaker 2: like just like self thoughts of like anxiety of like
• 55:08
  Speaker 2: you're doing something wrong, you're doing something wrong, and like
• 55:10
  Speaker 2: that's how I know that, like I need something to
• 55:14
  Speaker 2: save me, and like I found that in Jesus. And
• 55:17
  Speaker 2: I've also learned to be a better person, like just
• 55:21
  Speaker 2: for me, like Galatians for the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, guydness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
• 55:26
  Speaker 2: self like self control of like I've learned how to
• 55:28
  Speaker 2: be a better friend. I've learned how to be a
• 55:30
  Speaker 2: better friend from the community around me and just the
• 55:32
  Speaker 2: community here. It comes in and I like see little
• 55:34
  Speaker 2: parts of like those fruits and other people and like
• 55:36
  Speaker 2: I came here and I think, like you could probably
• 55:38
  Speaker 2: attest to this, like I probably wasn't that good of
• 55:41
  Speaker 2: a friend honestly, because I didn't have many friends before this,
• 55:43
  Speaker 2: and like, I had to learn how to learn how
• 55:46
  Speaker 2: to be a good friend, how to learn how to
• 55:48
  Speaker 2: be a good person. I got told my freshman year
• 55:50
  Speaker 2: that I seemed unapproachable, and I was like, whoa, And
• 55:54
  Speaker 2: you know, I had to sit back and reflect, Yeah,
• 55:56
  Speaker 2: you know what he's.
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: They're probably right.
• 55:58
  Speaker 3: They're probably right.
• 55:59
  Speaker 2: I probably was an unapproachable and like, you know what,
• 56:02
  Speaker 2: the Jesus that I serve is not unapproachable, And like, man,
• 56:05
  Speaker 2: how can I learn that? And I can stand here saying,
• 56:09
  Speaker 2: like I'm not a perfect person, but I've learned to
• 56:11
  Speaker 2: be a better person because of it, so therefore I'm
• 56:14
  Speaker 2: not ashamed of it.
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: I think that's something like a lot of student athletes
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: have to deal with too, like putting their identity in
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: the sport. And like you shared how you put your
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: identity into gymnastics in when you fractured your back, like
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: it all got taken away from you. What happens when
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: gymnastics is over Because a lot of us don't have
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: like a future in gymnastics after college. So it's like
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: other sports, like they have options to go pro gymnastics,
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: You don't like it's college than done unless you're.
• 56:43
  Speaker 4: Like, yeah, yea, your sport is going to end.
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: It is going to end at some point. So I
• 56:50
  Speaker 1: think just not putting your entire identity into your sport
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: is something that we all have to learn at something.
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: And it's so cool that you've found that.
• 56:59
  Speaker 2: And I think the biggest like shift for me was
• 57:02
  Speaker 2: like it used to be like an idol, and now
• 57:04
  Speaker 2: it's been turned into a gift. Yeah, and like a
• 57:07
  Speaker 2: gift that you're able to share, a gift that I'm
• 57:08
  Speaker 2: able to share. And the Lord has given me many gifts.
• 57:12
  Speaker 2: And when this gift he tells me he's it's done,
• 57:16
  Speaker 2: then I'll go and serve where my feet are and
• 57:19
  Speaker 2: like wherever that will be, whether it's the military, whether
• 57:22
  Speaker 2: it's not in the military. You know, I have like
• 57:23
  Speaker 2: these desires and these hopes and dreams, but but I
• 57:26
  Speaker 2: know that man, he has good plans for me, plans
• 57:29
  Speaker 2: to prosper, plans for a good future. And I've got
• 57:32
  Speaker 2: to trust that. And like being able to look to
• 57:35
  Speaker 2: the giver and just being in all the gifts that
• 57:38
  Speaker 2: he's given me and being able to share them and
• 57:41
  Speaker 2: not make it an idol because man, I get trapped
• 57:44
  Speaker 2: when I do that, and like you get trapped like
• 57:46
  Speaker 2: in these thoughts of like, man if I don't if
• 57:49
  Speaker 2: I don't do this, well, then my life is over.
• 57:51
  Speaker 2: If I if I, if I don't graduate, my life
• 57:53
  Speaker 2: is over. And like you stretch this out into like
• 57:56
  Speaker 2: this life thing of identity and it's like, man, if
• 58:00
  Speaker 2: I believe that the creator of the universe has the
• 58:02
  Speaker 2: power over life and death, and like, whom do I
• 58:04
  Speaker 2: have to fear?
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: So I want to end, well, yeah, yeah, you are obviously.
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: I know this every day. I say that to myself
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: every day. Lily is awesome. Lily's awesome. But I want
• 58:15
  Speaker 1: to end with one piece of advice that you would
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: give yourself before starting at Clemson, before going through this
• 58:22
  Speaker 1: whole journey, before sharing your testimony, before all of this stuff, Like,
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: what's one piece of advice you would tell bright eyed
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: and bushy tailed Lily.
• 58:30
  Speaker 2: I'm so glad that you asked me this question because
• 58:33
  Speaker 2: no one has asked me this yet, and I have
• 58:35
  Speaker 2: thought about it so much, and it's so simple and
• 58:38
  Speaker 2: may seem just really dumb, but it has like it
• 58:42
  Speaker 2: has intention to it of say hi to everyone, and
• 58:49
  Speaker 2: my freshman year, anxiety filled Lily entering into a new space.
• 58:54
  Speaker 2: I just thought people wouldn't remember me. I thought people
• 58:59
  Speaker 2: wouldn't care about me. I thought everyone else was cooler.
• 59:02
  Speaker 2: So it's like, m don't say hi to them, Like
• 59:05
  Speaker 2: I may know them, you may have met them once,
• 59:08
  Speaker 2: but I wouldn't say hi to them because I'm because
• 59:10
  Speaker 2: in my head, I was thinking, oh, they don't remember me.
• 59:13
  Speaker 2: They're cooler than me, like they're competing in a sport
• 59:16
  Speaker 2: or like they got their life together. Look, they have friends,
• 59:18
  Speaker 2: and like you don't really, so like, don't don't say
• 59:20
  Speaker 2: hi to them. They don't remember you, they don't remember you,
• 59:22
  Speaker 2: And I like I kept that with me, and I
• 59:25
  Speaker 2: feel like that is like my only regret was I
• 59:29
  Speaker 2: didn't say hi to people because I've seen the community
• 59:33
  Speaker 2: like around Clemson, and I have like I've built a
• 59:35
  Speaker 2: community now and I have a lot of people, and
• 59:36
  Speaker 2: like my sophomore year, I was like really intentional just
• 59:40
  Speaker 2: with different relationships with people. And I wish that I
• 59:43
  Speaker 2: had done that my freshman year because I feel like
• 59:44
  Speaker 2: there's so many people that I could have met, you
• 59:46
  Speaker 2: could have had stronger and deeper relationships with and like
• 59:49
  Speaker 2: you what a.
• 59:49
  Speaker 1: Perfect place to do it. It comes in the southern hospitality.
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: Everyone is so nice and they will say hi back.
• 59:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah exactly, And I was just I was just too
• 59:56
  Speaker 2: scared to say hi. So, if you're fresh, if you're
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 2: listening to this, if you're a new person on campus,
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 2: just say hi to people, even if they don't know you,
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 2: just say hi. Yeah.
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 3: It's my advice.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: Lily, thank you so much for coming on beyond the call.
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: I think you're the most memorable person I've ever met
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: in my entire life. I'll never forget you. But also,
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: where do you want people to find you on Instagram?
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: TikTok LinkedIn.
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you can find me on Instagram. You can say
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 2: hi to me too. What is it?
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 1: What Instagram?
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 2: You can find me on Instagram, Lily lip it so
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 2: our last time, l I p p a t te
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 2: in case you forgot, or you can just come say
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 2: hi to me.
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 1: Awesome.
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 2: I'd love to talk to you.
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: Thanks Lily, thank you, thank you,